Move on speed limit 'too soon'

A major two-month enforcement campaign on speed concludes today, where any vehicle exceeding the speed limit by 5km/h faced a ticket from police.

A permanent lower speed tolerance on our roads could be a positive move for the region, said Wairarapa Road Safety manager Bruce Pauling - but police should not rush to implement it nationwide.

A major two-month enforcement campaign on speed concludes today, where any vehicle exceeding the speed limit by 5km/h faced a ticket from police.

The possibility of keeping the lower speed tolerance in place permanently has been raised - but the Automobile Association (AA) issued a press release yesterday morning saying it was "too soon" to make a decision on the matter.

Mr Pauling said that while the reduced speed tolerance had worked well over the holiday break, he agreed with the AA's statements.

"I think it's too early for the Government to bang the rubber stamp to make it permanent," he said. "Before that decision is made, as with any major campaign, we need to look at the outcomes.

"We need to look at things like how many tickets have been issued compared with last year, how many serious crashes and how many fatalities.

"All that takes time. We need to build up a picture of what's going on, and then we can make a decision."

Mike Noon, AA motoring affairs general manager, said there were four more road deaths in late January this year compared with this time last year - which "shows that there is a lot more than just speed involved in road crashes".

Mr Pauling said with the causes of some major road accidents still under investigation, the decision needed to be put on hold.

"At this stage, it's hard to know for sure how effective the low tolerance has been," he said.

"I think the reduced speed tolerance makes sense over the holidays when you've got a high traffic volume. I've heard very little gripes about it - I think people are now starting to come on board.

"But, it's hard to comment on the causes without looking at all the results."

Mr Pauling says a permanent reduced speed tolerance could have positive results for Wairarapa - especially for young drivers who, turning to their cars without many options for public transport, have been caught speeding.

However, commuters in a rush to work could get "brassed off. Any new road initiatives always have in 'settling-in' time, but people get used to it," he said.

"Commuters might struggle, but they won't be affected adversely. If you're travelling at 100kmh, rather than 105 or 110, it's not going to decrease your travel time at all.'